New innovation drive: AI videos show China's tech self-reliance

Did you watch the "wedding" of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris? Of course, the two U.S. presidential candidates didn't get married to each other in real life. But AI-generated videos showing them kissing each other at a heartwarming wedding went viral on Chinese social media – before being removed for a lack of "generated by AI" tags.

Not long after OpenAI shocked the world with its high-quality text-to-video service Sora, a wave of AI-created fan art videos flooded Chinese video websites.

These fan art creators didn't have access to Sora – it's not released to the public yet, but they uploaded many decent AI videos showing all sorts of things impossible, from ancient people eating a burger to enemies in movies hugging each other.

Most of these videos were generated by AI services locally developed in China, like the Kling model from Kwai video service, Jimeng (previously Dreamina) from TikTok, Vidu with participation of Tsinghua University, and many more.

These tools can generate everything from simple animations to complex, cinematic sequences, all based on text prompts or pictures of users' choice.

From January to November 2024, the number of generative AI models approved by the government has grown from less than 50 to over 300.

What's driving this rapid advancement? A combination of government support, a thriving tech ecosystem and a growing pool of AI talent. In recent years, the Chinese government has rolled out a series of policies aimed at fostering innovation and making China a global leader in AI. These policies have included increased funding for research, the establishment of AI research centers and supportive regulations.

But AI is just one piece of the puzzle. China's broader push towards technological self-reliance has led to significant advancements in fields like 5G, quantum computing and supercomputing. The government has made it clear that technological innovation is essential for the country's long-term prosperity and security.